All those who thought that low-end fixed-line telephone users called less due to increase in tariffs, check this out.
For subscribers making 200-250 calls a month, traffic was found to have gone up 18-27 per cent during 1999-2001, even as call charges climbed 25 per cent. In contrast, for high-end subscribers, those who make more than 10,000 calls per month, traffic decreased despite a fall in call rates.
A study conducted by the economic research unit of the department of telecommunications for 1999-2001 has pointed out that the telephone is a status symbol for low-end users and they make calls irrespective of the charges.